Multinationals in New Zealand to pay fair share of tax

WELLINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) — New measures to ensure multinational companies in New Zealand pay their fair share of tax will come into force next week.

Revenue Minister Stuart Nash said the Taxation (Neutralizing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament on Tuesday, takes effect from July 1 and will considerably improve the integrity of the tax system.

“Companies should ideally pay tax in the right country,” Nash said in a statement, adding this legislation will ensure that multinationals pay tax based on the actual economic activity they carry out in New Zealand.

“It is not in the interest of New Zealand taxpayers if multinational companies avoid paying taxes here,” Nash said, adding the changes address the problem of companies operating cross-border and using aggressive tax structuring to reduce the tax they pay.

Inland Revenue estimated that these measures could result in an extra 200 million NZ dollars (137 million U.S. dollars) of tax revenue each year, once fully phased in.